KotNR Story So Far
This page outlines the Story So Far for the Knights of the New Republic game. It begins with a history lesson for the reality impaired; IE, a brief run-up of some of the important history, locations, and characters in the setting for players who are not familar with the Young Jedi Knights sagas or the adventures of Kyle Katarn. Later, it will feature tales of the player's daring-do and the exploits they have wrought. Please note that, for further edification, links to the Starwars wikia will be rife. However, no information that relates to any character at all which post-dates the game's start in 23 ABY should be relied upon to be accurate at all. Always in flux, the future is. Additionally, some things may not have happened as they did in the past; any discrepancies are always resolved in favor of whatever gamecanon the GM spouts, and discrepancies can and should be explained away as lies, damned lies, misinformation, propaganda, or tavern tales. Entries may be made by players, such as for locations of personal background note. Player characters get their own write-ups, however, and do not belong in The Characters. NPCs of note do. However, all entries by players must be signed with four tildes, "~~~~", to put name and person to them. The GM's word is final if any issues arise from this. = The Characters = (Please note, this section is for NPCs. Player Characters get entire pages devoted to them.) Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master In the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker slowly wound down as a Rebel, and started to become a true Jedi. 11 years after the Battle of Yavin, Skywalker founded the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV, in the forgotten temple above which they had destroyed the first Death Star. Things have not been all smooth sailing since then: More than a fair share of the students have had brushes with the Dark Side, some have fallen entirely. Nevertheless, Luke Skywalker is the Master of this academy; and by extension, of all Jedi currently in the galaxy. A teacher, scholar, Jedi Master, adept pilot, Skywalker has worn many hats in his lifetime, and remains a fixture in the Praxeum. Skywalker bears a green lightsaber, patterned after that of his own mentor, Master Kenobi. The Solo Children The offspring of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo, there are the twins, Jacen and Jaina Solo, and their younger brother, Anakin (named after his grandfather). The three, and their assorted pint-sized friends, are the source of no end of grief and adventure around the Academy, and in the galaxy at large. Although the twins are only fourteen (and their younger brother younger still), their lives have been 'blessed' with no share of adventure, including their latest adventure which has brought war to the steps of the Jedi Praxeum itself. Kyle Katarn, Jedi Master Libraries could be dedicated to the life and times of Katarn, who is, if anything, possibly the only Jedi alive as worthy of the title Jedi Master as Luke Skywalker, and possibly the greatest living Lightsaber combatant. His past is long and if anything convoluted is an understatement, starting as an Imperial Stormtrooper and currently a Jedi Master, phasing through an officer of the Empire and later a Rebel Operative. He is often the person the Republic or Master Skywalker call upon if they need a 'situation' handled singlehandedly - Katarn's formidable power as a Jedi, his experiance in the back allies and spacelanes of the galaxy, and his proclivity for being able to wield any weapon one puts in his hands no matter the origin, make him the premier go-to man for any missions requiring a delicate touch, then the application of liberal amounts of violence. Despite his legendary status as a warrior of all stripes, Katarn still attempts to teach his students the true Jedi way, though fate seldom allows this to be. Not a single student Katarn has taken on has ever been granted more than a few month's peace at a time. On the other hand, not a one has (permanently) fallen to the Dark Side, either, so being assigned to Katarn is something of a mixed blessing. Kyle "Encumberance? I don't know the meaning of the word" Katarn wields a blue lightsaber he built under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker, as well as a truely awe-inspiring arsenal of weaponry, often more than entire special forces teams carry. Jan Ors, Republic Operative Despite supposedly not seeking the glory, the Jedi get all the attention. It probably comes with swinging around giant glowing sticks which scream "shoot at me" to any Stormtrooper with two synaspses to fire together. At least, that's what you'll hear if you ask Jan Ors about herself, in a careful dodge of the question. Jan Ors is not a Jedi; she's not even force-sensitive, to the best of anyone's knowledge. She is, however, an invaluable asset to the Jedi Order, who have acquired her services, such as they are, in an indirect way; Jan is Kyle Katarn's partner. She won't clarify in what sense she means that, though it's an open secret that the pair are lovers, in addition to partners-in-crime. Ors' background is every bit as sortied and convulted as Katarn's, and her skills - and exploits - just as vital and nessessary as her more noticable companion's. In the field, she is often the pilot of the vessel she and Katarn own, the Raven's Claw, pulling off fast extractions - or close air support. In the Jedi Praxeum, she restored the former Rebel Control Center to operating condition and uses it's hook-ups to keep abreast of matters in the Republic. As well, she may be found educating Jedi students in matters not related to the Force - if she wanted to, she could easily get a position in Rogue Squadron, so she is often found teaching students about piloting, politics, or technology. Jan Ors is an expert with most forms of weaponry known to the galaxy, though she does not share Kyle's prediliction for heavy ordinance. Fond of heavy blaster pistols and blaster carbines, Jan has a small collection of exotic models uncommon in the galaxy at large, though in times of crisis she is most often seen carrying a BlasTech E-11 simply since it is the most common blaster carbine in existance and she seldom has time to retrieve the good ones from her room and charge their power packs. She is also known for her prowess in hand-to-hand combat, more than capable of taking on several healthy male members of stronger species in cantina brawls and emerging victorious. Jaden Korr, Jedi Knight (Non-Canonicty Notice The following information is mostly non-canon, having taken shape from the way I resolved Jedi Academy when I played.) Jaden Korr is a female Rutian Twi'lek of young age. She is highly notable among Jedi for having been the first and only known Jedi to have constructed a Lightsaber without any formal instruction or tutelate whatsoever. Over the course of mere months, Jaden Korr and her fellow student assigned to Kyle, Rosh Penin, went through what can only be described as a "baptism of fire". Forced to kill before she was even inducted into the Academy, the young woman found herself perpetrating a long trail of blood and scattered body parts from one end of the Galaxy to the other as she became embroiled in the Cult of Ragnos Crisis, often finding herself inadvertantly thrust into lethal situations. The youngest person in the new Order to have achieved the rank of Jedi Knight, the young Korr's initial trial-by-fire culminated in a lightsaber duel with no less than a true Sith Lord, Marka Ragnos, albiet as a ghost possessing Tavion Axmis. Korr is one of the more well-rounded Jedi in the Academy, possessing a good knowledge of many useful and varied skills. Her true strength is lightsaber combat, however; she carries no less than three about her person at all times, and has mastered many styles of dueling, to the point of pioneering more than her fair share of skills. She can also teach Jedi to use the Force to guide their acrobatics; those who follow in her footsteps will find themselves beginning to master the highly kinetic and fearless flow of motion known to the Jedi Masters of old. Despite numerous brushes with the Dark Side and 'questionable' use of various Force Powers, Jaden's balance is as precise as a turbogyro; seemingly always chipper and cheerful, she is a good person to talk to if one feels out of synch with the Force. Jaden wields (at least) three lightsabers: A pale blue single with an organic-shaped handle, a bright violet copy of the lightsaber of Darth Vader, and a double-bladed lightsaber of broad handle and sleek, technological appearance, with a vibrant yellow blade. Kya Nalin, Jedi Learner This young girl was recovered from Crack-Tooth the Aqualish's Crack-House, where she had been used as a meat-toy whore. Somehow, despite this, she still seems kind and warm to those around her, whom she instinctively judges to be her friends and safe-keepers. She's mute, and has been since she was recovered - though for purely psychological reasons. She's not unable to communicate, being able to both write and communicate with the Twi'lek Lekku sign-language, just unable to speak. She is a force-sensitive, and is trying to learn to do what those around her can do, and she's glommed tightly onto Niari, having made the heart-wrenching choice between the Lethan Twi'lek she sees as an older sister and the Human she'd glommed on to after he rescued her. Arclite, Jedi Learner A young girl indoctrinated by the Shadow Academy, Arc found herself caught up in a life-or-death struggle she dearly wanted nothing more than to escape. Held at blaster point by experienced Imperial Novatroopers and ordered to hold a doorway against incoming Jedi, Arclite connected telepathically with Athria and impressed upon her the deepness of her plight. Athria swung 'round her faster than the Novatrooper could pull the trigger, deflected his incoming attack, and Arc promptly turned coat. Arclite was sent with the group on their trip to Coruscant under the suggestion that they could use a recent native of the planet, and while on that trip she continued to bond with Athria. She also met the elderly Jedi Master Mace Windu when the group retrieved him from the depths of the undercity which he had found himself in, and learned from him as well as from Athria. When the group was diverted to Anno on their return trip to Yavin IV, she of course went along. After they finally returned to Yavin IV and were again dispatched (in their newly-repaired vessel the Light of Tython, she simply went along for the ride, taking the pilot's seat since no-one objected, at least for travel. Nihhm’ram’hunado, AKA Ganges, Imperial Procurator of Justice Ganges is an Imperial Procurator of Justice who took the unusual step of coming to the Jedi Order for aid; aid in thwarting a plot to increase tensions between the Empire and the New Republic, and potentially leading to war. A Chiss Male, Ganges is a veteran law enforcement officer, a skilled investigator and a shrewd mind. = The Locations Of Note = Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV The Jedi Praxeum extablished on Yavin IV by Master Skywalker is the hub of all Jedi activity in the Galaxy, for now. It is a place of learning, it is also a place of gathering, living, and thriving. Jedi congregate here, live here. The Praxeum has many interesting locations within it's walls, many of which you may be seeing. The temple has been attacked at points in the past, and the inhabitants have always fought back and driven off the invaders. Now war again comes to the Jedi Academy, courtesy of the Emperor Reborn. The Jedi Praxeum is your home, and you have been called upon to defend it. The Infirmary Accidents can happen, unfortunately. The Academy infirmary, which was once the medical bay housing the rebels who fought here, has been restored. With a 2-1B medical droid and other, lesser medical units on hand, as well as those healers among the Jedi, the infirmary can dispense medications, prepare medkits for journeys, and deal with injuries up to and including severed limbs, thanks to it's three bacta tanks and numerous beds. The Armory Considered a nessessary evil at times, the Academy and it's students see violence enough that even Master Skywalker has to admit that, sadly, keeping a well-stocked armory is only prudent. Behind a locked and sealed vault door, the ordinance secured from numerous adventures throughout the galaxy is maintained in ready condition. Along with the obvious, such as light blast vests, E-11 blaster carbines and DL-44 pistols, in even more secure sub-vaults are the heavier ordinance employed by Kyle Katarn and his students when lightsabers alone are deemed insufficient, including, among other things, various flavors of explosives, ion guns, rocket launchers, concussion rifles, bowcasters, and other sorts of grim testaments to the prediliction sentient life has with terminating sentient life. The Blast Shelter Deep under the Temple there is a blast shelter, constructed during the days of the rebel base. This blast shelter features two meter thick durasteel walls and meter-thick durasteel blast doors, a self-enclosed life support system and consumables for up to three hundred sentients for two months. It is used in case of emergencies as a place of safety for the younger students. The Vault The Vault was originally identical to the blast shelter, there being two of them. However, it has been converted into storage for artifacts brought to the Temple from various expeditions and adventures, too dangerous to store in the temple itself, but also worth keeping in existance (or too dangerous to attempt to destroy.) Entry is strictly prohibited to anyone but the Masters. The Hangar, Landing Pad, and Visitor's Building The Academy's main hangar bay is a true mammoth bay, capable of containing several whole squadrons of starfighters in both the main bay and the maintenance/parking bays below, accessable by lift. A smaller vehicle garage is to the side - the vehicles must, however, be piloted out through the main hangar doors. Constant fixtures in the hangar and landing pad are R2-D2 (often seen in the company of C-3P0) and Master Skywalker's X-Wing. Jaden Korr's Z-95 Headhunter is also maintained ready to go in short order as well. In the maintainance bays below are often numerous Yavin Runner shuttles, small space transports which are often used to shuttle Jedi about when several need to go somewhere at once. Other common fixtures include the Millenium Falcon, which can be seen parked on the one square kilometer duracrete pad usually around once every two months, the Raven's Claw, which is parked at the academy so often a durasteel shed was erected to shelter it from the incessant rain, and the Lightning Rod, the most reliable and regular of the many spacer vessels which are contracted to bring supplies to the Academy. The Visitor's Building is one of those "They have a what? At a Jedi School?" places (much like the armory.) Yavin IV gets visitors who don't properly mesh with the temple often enough that the building was seen as a good idea. Some visitors, such as Leia Organa Solo, are perfectly comfortable in the midst of all the Jedi, and some, such as Chewbacca and Han Solo, prefer to sleep in their vessels, simply because that's their way. For others, in search of a hot meal they didn't cook and a warm bed they don't have to make in the morning, there's the Visitor's Building, a smooth, two story building constructed by the Academy students of local stone. The bottom floor is a cantina, much like any other on the side of any small spaceport in any corner of the galaxy, and the top floor houses four adequate and comfortable guest's rooms. Although drinks, food, and rooms are free, the bartender droid is programmed not to dispense enough to get someone violently drunk. It was soon discovered that having a cantina onsite had other benefits as well, and the faculty and older students are allowed to patronize the cantina as well, though the bartenders are if anything even more conservative in dispensing alcohol to students. The Great Hall The Great Hall of the Jedi Academy is in the upper levels of the ziggarut, and is a very great hall indeed. Long and open, airy, with massive windows looking out over Yavin IV's junglescape opposite the hangars, a raised dias at the end, accessable by stairs, the room is otherwise bare, warm-colored stone, and good for ceremonies, of which the Hall has seen innumerable ones throughout it's lifeitme. Notably, this hall is where the pilots and personell of the Rebel Alliance celebrated the destruction of the first Death Star, where Luke Skywalker and other persons in need of a place to deliver a speech from give speeches or adresses. It's also a fairly common congregating area for students and Jedi with nothing else to do, being conducive to meditation and contemplation. Training Rooms Numerous rooms in the academy provide space for young Jedi to train and hone their skills. Ranging from the simple and rudimentary - lifting weights with the Force, shoving stones in floor sockets around, acrobatic training grounds, to elaborate arenas for dueling practice, to classrooms for the education of more cerebral pursuits, which can be anything from Jedi Lore to galactic history to the fundamentals of powered flight or galactic politics. The Ruins Many ruins dot the envrions of the Jedi Academy, most of them used as tests and trials for the young Jedi - or, occasionally, the older Jedi in need of a refresher course. These are surprisingly modular and customizable, and often tailored to be challenging tests of the individual going through them; not only in terms of using the Force, but in terms of using their head to overcome obstacles. They do not, by nature, include violent obstacles, although occasionally the local wildlife may get in and pose a challenge - or, once, a lightsaber combat training droid was loosed by a student under the mistaken impression that two challenges being undertaken simultainously constituted a race, as a distraction for another student. (Since then, it has become uncommon to run more than one in courses together, and the fact that it is not a race is always mentioned beforehand.) = The History Lesson = The Old Republic Since a time immemorial, the Old Republic stood as the dominant pollitical entity in the Galaxy, before the Dark Times. The Republic, as it was known to itself, was first formed in time immemorial - no-one knew how long it had existed. Uniting peoples, serving as a senatorial decision-making body, the Republic offered protection, mediation, trade... The benefits were many, the drawbacks, though existant, few. It was not without it's rocky times - there were wars, there were times when the Republic teetered on the edge of the collapse, but it was always brought back from the edge of collapse by it's guardians. They were the Jedi Knights, and for over a thousand generations they were the guardians of peace and justice. They were not without flaws, but the Jedi Order sustained the Republic; its diplomats, its mediators solving crisis before they could explode, and, in times of dire emergency, its Knights to solve crisis after they became full-fledged catastrophie. More than once, the Republic verged on collapse and disaster, anarchy and the end of civilization as they knew it, only to be held together by the sheer determination and strength of the Jedi Knights - sometimes the whole Order, and sometimes the fate of the galaxy pivoted on the actions of a tiny group of individual Jedi. The Republic, as all things inevitably must, fell, a mere forty-two years ago. Forty-two years! Less than a generation ago. Among the elders of all but the most temporarily-lived species you will find sentients who were citizens of the Republic itself! The Republic came upon a time of great crisis, the Clone Wars. The origins of these wars are lost to the 'corrections' of history that occured under the body that was the Empire; what history can be found now is almost certainly Imperial propaganda. What is certain is that an uprising against the Republic took place, an alliance of trade guilds and multiplanetary bodies known as the Seperatists, who wished to secede from the Republic and govern themselves. Why, exactly, they were not permitted to simply go is unclear; what is clear is that a Grand Army of the Republic was raised, of Clones, to combat the droid armies of the Seperatists. The Republic won, seemingly. Yet, in the end days, according to Imperial propaganda, the Jedi Order betrayed the Republic, attempting to assassinate then-Supreme Chancelor Palpatine. Reading between the lines, knowing as we do know that Palpatine was in fact Darth Sideous, a Dark Lord of Sith, it may be surmised that the Jedi Order at last wisened to the fact that they had been manipulated all along, and attempted to deal with Palpatine. Imperial Propaganda also tells us that one Jedi alone refused to betray the Republic, and was grossly maimed in the process of saving the Chancelor's life; that being Darth Vader. Again, reading between the lines, we can surmise that for whatever reason, once more the balance of the galaxy swung on the actions of one man - and that man, Darth Vader, chose the Dark Side. The Dark Times of The Empire As a luminare of the time, witnessing the event first-hand, whose name is forgotten to revisions, commented, "So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause." Palpatine, who until the birth of the Empire had appeared to be a kindly old man, was revealed as the shriveled, evil gray thing that we know him as now. The Seperatists were destroyed with unnatural swiftness - the Clone Wars ended mere days after the proclimation of the Galactic Empire. It may be suspected that this is due to the Clone Wars having been masterminded by Palpatine in the first place and been the only thing keeping them going. Whatever the case, the Empire began to assume more and more power; the Clone Troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic became the Stormtroopers of the Imperial Army. An army, seemingly without a war to fight, yet even with the Seperatists defeated, there was always some threat, some reason not to disband the army. And so it continued, for two decades; crisis after crisis that never seemed to actually materialize, but looming so large that more and more power was nessessary, more and more submission to the will of the Emperor. Slavery was instituted and widely brought about, and before long, the most populous race - humans - were looked upon with fear and mistrust by most other races; and humans, realizing they were reviled, began to mistrust and fear in return. The Emperor manufactured his crises well; the lingering nature of this racial resentment haunts us even today, with groups such as the Diversity Alliance, based on Ryloth, among others, making bold speeches of anti-human sentiment, and human-supremecy groups still within the Republic providing plenty of hate in return. Eventually, 23 years ago, the Imperial Senate was disbanded, and the Emperor assumed all autonomous powers unto himself, granting himself and his heirs eternal rule over the Empire, and using regional governors to direct his will. The transition from democracy to military dictatorship was complete, and heralded by the completion of the Death Star, the Emperor's ultimate weapon; a weapon so terrifyingly powerful that no-one could concieve of the concept of dissenting against he who wielded it! The Rebel Alliance to Restore the Republic The Alliance to Restore the Republic, also known simply as the Rebel Alliance, had been formenting for years. Originally a pollitical action group which was just as it's name implies, a group of politicians and planets who wished to use voting power in the Imperial Senate to strip Emperor Palpatine of his powers, his title, and revert the Empire to the Republic, they were branded as traitors, anarchists, criminals, terrorists, rebels, (ironically) Seperatists, and anything else the Emperor's propaganda machine could think up to turn sentiment against them. Sentiment in some parts of the galaxy followed Palpatine's will, but there were many, many worlds who refused. As they were branded as rebels, Rebels they became; as brutality became the norm, there arose those who realized that words could not peacefully remove the Emperor; only action could. Brutality was met with violence, and the Alliance, funded by deep pockets of wealthy individuals, back-room donations of all sizes, and even the megacorporations and governments of entire star systems. The Alliance to Restore the Republic now knew that only direct action would ever hope to see the Republic restored; the tyranny of the Emperor ended. The Alliance, however, was a rag-tag group at first; though well-funded, and possessing enough firepower and weapons of war to make even the Hutts (whom the Empire was either uninterested in conquering or unable to) wary of picking a fight, lost when they engaged the Empire head-on; crushed under the might of the Imperial war-machine. They needed a coup. They needed a victory so stunning that worlds which previously wished to aid the Alliance, but were too afraid of the Empire's retribution, would see that the Empire could be defeated. 23 years ago, that victory happened. The Death Star was employed to destroy Alderaan, a peaceful planet of pacifists, simply to make Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan divulge the location of the Rebel Base; something she did (at least as far as Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader knew at the time), and Alderaan was destroyed anyway. Escaping from the Death Star, she, along with a smuggler duo by the names of Captain Han Solo and his first mate, Chewbacca, an ex-moisture farmer from Tatooine by the name of Luke Skywalker, and his droids, |R2-D2 and C-3P0, she led the group to the true rebel base, here on Yavin IV itself. Unfortunately, the Empire had, knowing this would occur, planted a tracking device on their starship, the Millenium Falcon. The Death Star's commander ordered the Death Star to pursue, despite the fact that the Imperial Navy would not be able to move assets in to place to assist; indeed, they were ordered to stand back, and let the Death Star handle the rebels alone. It was the undoing of the Death Star, and the rising of the Alliance. The rebels, exploiting a vunerability in the Death Star's design flaw, destroyed the largest vessel (then) known to have flown, using some of the smallest in the galaxy. The Empire's largest weapon of war, destroyed, with only two known survivors, one of whom crashed on Yavin IV and was otherwise mostly unimportant in history, the other being Darth Vader himself. The Battle of Yavin, possibly even more than the Battle of Endor four years later, that was the turning point marking the shift in the Empire's power. For the first time, the Alliance had proven that it could confront the might of the Empire head-on and emerge victorious. Systems declared open alliegance to the Rebel Alliance, and the Empire found itself utterly beset. It could not focus it's military might on destroying the military of the Alliance; spread thin, attempting to force entire sectors back into line through threat and use of violence, the Alliance grew. Hardly unchecked; the Empire would retaliate, but for every victory the Empire won, it suffered a defeat both dramatic and subtle. The Restoration of the Republic Four years after the Battle of Yavin, the Alliance destroyed the Emperor's second attempt at a world-shattering superweapon: the Second Death Star, and with it, saw the end of both Emperor Palpatine, and Darth Vader, who turned back to the Light, turned back to Anakin Skywalker (briefly before his end, as his life support systems had been fatally damaged in saving his son's life.) Scant months later, the leaders of the Rebel Alliance signed the Declaration of a New Republic, and the New Republic was born. The Empire, which had for two decades held the galaxy in a grip of terror, was knowing nothing but defeat at every turn; fractured by the death of the autocratic Emperor, the Rebel Alliance became the dominant force, and as the Empire strained under the force of warlords and intrigue masters attempting to take power for themselves, most of the galaxy united behind the Rebel Alliance. In short order, even Courscant itself fell. The New Republic was born, and the Empire fractured into the Imperial Remnant, which circled the drain for quite some time, before solidifying into one force. For a time they threatened the New Republic, but never seriously straining our New Republic. The foundation of the new Jedi Order The Jedi Praxeum here on Yavin IV was founded twelve years ago. Since that time, our students and Jedi have been called upon numerous times, both by the Republic and of our own violition, to deal with threats to the security of the Republic. The first crisis dealt with almost exclusively by our Jedi was the Empire Reborn Crisis, when the very temple itself was assaulted. Later, our Jedi would again be most of the bulwark standing between our galaxy and another Dark-side fueled crisis, this time Tavion Axmis' Disciples of Ragnos cult, which nearly saw the rebirth of an ancient and terrible Sith Lord, Marka Ragnos. The New Republic might not have survived an Empire being led by a Sith Lord of old, raising armies of dark Jedi as have not been seen in the Galaxy in millenia. The Second Imperium Crisis Most recently, the Jedi came under attack again. It seemed as if Emperor Palpatine had returned yet again; this time his primary weapons were to be force-sensitive Dark Jedi and other Dark-siders such as the Nightsisters of Dathomir. They attacked the Jedi Praxeum from their massive hyperspace-capable vessel, the Shadow Academy; it inserted itself into orbit of the Jedi Praxeum. = An Alternate Reality = That which happened previously in another run of Knights of the New Republic has been archived for posterity. Clicking on it will lead to spoilers for some things and things which won't be happening this time around, but I trust you're mature enough to decide for yourselves whether you want to read this (and review the awesomeness of the prior game) or not spoil it for yourselves. Category:Knights of the New Republic Category:Star Wars Category:Saga Edition Category:D20 Category:House Rules